Realization and Cute?
by Creatureofthedark
Summary: An interesting conversation between Lee and Donnie makes him realize just how much Lee understands about his most confusing brother. hint of a bad word but it's not actually spelled out


**Realization and…Cute?**

**Another little short thing. Lee and Donnie story. Though Raph comes in at the end. I'm gonna have to start making a timeline for all of these stories. This one is sometime before TLU and after YWBL. **

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"That's not my problem!"

"Yes it is! He's your brother! Talk to him!"

"He didn't _want_ to talk to me! He told me to leave him alone!"

"GO TALK TO HIM!"

"WHY?!"

"NOW!"

"FINE!"

As Raph storms out of the lair, Lee turns around to a dumbfounded Donatello.

"What?"

Eventually finding the sense to close his wide-open mouth, Donatello shakes his head in wonder and turns back to the computer. "How do you stand him?"

Lee bursts out laughing. "I find it kinda cute how he always acts so tough. But do you see how he's actually doing what I told him to?"

"Raph? Cute?" Don spins around to look at her. "What dimension do _you _live in?"

Lee grins. "Alright. So what if I called Mikey cute?"

"Mikey _is_ cute. He's the little one," he points out.

"He's got pretty blue eyes."

Don nods his head in agreement. "He does."

They look at each other for a moment. Then they both snicker.

"Okay then, what about Leo?"

Don thinks this over for a minute. "I wouldn't call Leo cute either. He's more… huh. I don't know."

Lee sits down and ponders this. "How about… charming."

Don laughs out loud this time. "Okay. Why?"

Lee tilts her head, thinking. "He has this… aura to him. A calming air around him. Then he's got his very strong sense of manners and respect for everyone. I don't know. He's just someone you would call charming."

Don's eyes sparkle at the interesting turn their conversation has gone. "Okay. So Leo is… charming." He holds in a laugh.

Lee grins at him. "And you?"

His eyebrows shoot up. "Me?"

"What would you call yourself?"

He looks down, embarrassed. "I can't call me anything. That's also why I've let you come up with all of the others. It would be kind of weird if I was calling any of my brothers charming. Mikey cute sure. He's the cute little brother. But with Raph and Leo, that would be weird."

Lee grins. "I get that. I guess it would be a little weird."

Don watches her study him.

"I got it. You are adorable."

He raises and eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

She smiles. "Yep. You've got that cute smile, soft eyes, you're friendly, smart but not high on yourself, and have a fun personality."

Don smiles back. "Okay. So I'm… adorable." He shakes his head as he laughs. "Okay. So what about you?"

Lee looks up to him in shock. "Me?"

"Yeah. So Mikey's cute, Leo's charming, and I'm adorable. What about you?"

"I… I'm nothing special." She looks away.

Don chuckles. "Of course you are. Do you know how all four of us would describe you?"

Lee looks up at him. "No."

He smiles at her. "Pretty. No, not pretty. Beautiful."

She frowns at him, unbelieving. "Me?"

"Yes. You."

"Why?"

He sighs. "Oh Lee. You are a beautiful girl. You're strong, loving, caring, faithful, and protective. You have patience like none other for Raph, a playful nature that is the best thing for Mikey, the calm to not only talk to Raph but hang out with Leo too, and you're so smart. You pick up on almost everything I'm teaching you. You're amazing. You seem to fit here perfectly. You fill in the gap in the middle of our circle of brothers. You're perfect."

Lee lets herself fall back into the chair she's sitting in. "Wow. Thanks Donnie."

Don grins. "No problem hon." He turns back to what he was doing. After a few seconds, he turns back around. "Wait a second. About Raph. Besides cute. What would you call him?"

Lee smiles. "Fierce. Loyal. Protector. Fire."

Don nods, thinking about this. "That's better. That's more Raph-like."

She takes on a dramatic tone. "The fierceness of a storm. Loyalty as strong as the toughest metal when he stands with us in fights. Our ever-present protector. With all of us when we need help. Fire. It burns in his eyes as his anger burns within him. He burns down the enemies as he fights. Passion. He loves stronger than he ever shows."

"Except with you," Don cuts in.

Lee comes out of her thoughts. She blushes. "Except with me."

Don shakes his head. "I still don't get it though. How do you put up with him?"

"Aw that's easy. His temper isn't as controlled as it should be, but I know he tries. And that a few minutes ago was nothing." She looks to the clock. "I'll give him maybe five more minutes before he comes back with Mikey and comes to apologize to me for yelling that loud."

Don nods. "That was louder than usual. I'm surprised you stand up to him."

Lee grins. "I trust him. But even then, I can see in his eyes when he is really so upset he needs to be left alone. Right then, he needed someone to tell him what to do. He wanted someone to tell him to go talk to Mikey. That's why he'll apologize. Because he knows he shouldn't have fought with me about something he should have done on his own."

"Huh. You really understand him, don't you?"

Lee smiles. "Sometimes. Other times, I don't know what's going through his head. There are days when he seems to withdraw so that it seems as if he's trying to keep away from me. But it happens less often than it used to."

"Hmmm." Don turns back to his computer.

Five minutes later, Don turns around to Raph walking in, Mikey right behind him. Both look much better than they had a while ago. Raph goes to Lee as Mike heads to the kitchen. Yep. He's better.

"Hey." Raph sits on the couch next to Lee.

"Hey," she replies, somewhat shortly. She doesn't look away from the T.V.

He sighs. After a few seconds he mumbles, "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Don sees the side of Lee's mouth towards him twitch a little. He has to fight not to smile too.

"It's okay." She still sounds a little uncaring.

Raph puts an arm around her and kisses her head. "I'm sorry Lee," he murmurs into her ear.

Don's eyes widen at the way he tries to act sweet towards her to get back in her good graces. That is a totally different side of him he's never seen before.

She smiles now. "It's okay," she replies, turning to him and giving him a hug.

Don smiles to himself as Lee gets comfortable against him and they both watch T.V. He turns back to his computer, shaking his head at how accurate Lee was in knowing what was going to happen with Raph.

He smiles softly to himself as he slowly hears both of their breathing becoming more and more steady. An hour later, Lee wakes up. Don turns to her. "You are very good at reading him, you know?"

Lee smiles. "It's all in his eyes."

He motions for her to come closer. She walks over to him and leans over. "You'd be perfect for him," he murmurs.

Lee blinks. Can Donnie read her that easily? She looks to him. She sees the twinkle in his eye and smiles softly. "Not right now Donnie. I'm still working all of my feelings out," she whispers.

"It's been almost three years. You still don't know?"

She sighs. "It's more complicated than that," she replies, walking over to the couch as Raph stirs.

He sits up to look for Lee when he realizes she isn't there. When she leans over the top of the couch he looks up at her. "Hey. Where'd you go?"

"I just got up. I'm goin' to get my shower and go to bed." She wraps her arms around the front of him and gives him a hug around the shoulders. "'Night."

"'Night."

She looks to Don. "'Night Donnie."

"Good night hon."

Don waits until he hears the water in the bathroom turn on before turning to Raph, just as he's standing up. "She called you cute today."

He freezes at that. He turns to Don. "What?"

"You heard me. Actually, she also used fierce, ever-present protector, and fire."

He lifts an eyebrow. "No kiddin'?"

"Nope."

"Huh."

"You know, you guys are actually pretty much perfect for each other."

Raph glares at him.

"I'm serious," Don counters.

"I'm not going to ruin her chance to find the perfect human guy."

Don sighs as he turns back to his computer, turning it off, and heading off to his room. "Don't say I didn't tell you so when she finally realizes it too and comes to you."

Raph watches him leave before eventually going up the stairs also. He stops at Lee's door. Smiling, he walks over and covers her up and kissing her forehead before leaving, closing the door behind him. He goes to his room.

He just sits in his hammock for a long time, thinking. He eventually lays down to go to sleep. "Cute huh?"

***

I didn't mean for this to happen. I seriously didn't. I thought it was just something you could avoid. Like the dark. But even in the brightest of light there's shadows. And this is what it was. I was trying to avoid a shadow. A feeling I had for you. And it's slowly catching up to me.

There was just this moment one day, that it finally hit me. That made me just sit back and go… $#!?. That 'oh crap I'm in trouble' thing. Like when you do something wrong and wait for weeks and nothing happens. And then one day you're found out. And they come to you and that one word goes through your head.

To tell you the truth it scared me to death when I looked at you that one day and felt that weight on my heart stronger than the day before. To feel that feeling I was trying to avoid but came anyway, slowly getting stronger and stronger. Let me tell ya. It's heartbreaking. Because I keep ignoring it, it's starting to hurt. But everyday I hide it so that you can't see what's slowly falling apart inside.

I am deathly afraid that someday you'll find out. How you haven't realized it yet is amazing to me. Sometimes I have those days where I have to just avoid you. Because if I don't, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold it inside. It scares me to think of you knowing how I'm feeling. Because I don't want it to influence you. I want you to love me. But I don't. Because I know I'm not what you should want.

The only thing that keeps me from going crazy is that I know that one day it will be the right time. That I will someday say what I've always wanted to say. The sentence I know deep down will never change, even though I wish it would. I can't wait till the day comes where I can't hold it in anymore. So I can get rid of the pain. I'm waiting for the day I can say, "_I love you."_

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**The end was kind of an afterthought. You can take it as either Raph or Lee's pov. mostly Raph's i guess.**


End file.
